THURSDAY 27
	Hicks: Plenty of interested parties Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks claims there is a large number of "interested buyers" in the club he and George Gillett put up for sale last month. "Liverpool has a really big universe of interested buyers," said the Texan. "There are a number of wealthy people all over the world, particularly in the Middle East and Asia, who are enormous Liverpool fans." (Press Association Sport)     Mourinho would like Gerrard at Real Madrid Jose Mourinho has expressed his admiration for England midfield duo Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard as he formulates his plans to get Real Madrid back to winning ways. The Portuguese, who is set to be named as Madrid coach in the coming days after Manuel Pellegrini was sacked from the post on Wednesday night, also outlined his preference for full-backs in the mould of Ashley Cole and Maicon. "Both (Gerrard and Lampard) are great players who always give everything," he said. While Mourinho is also yet to officially leave Inter Milan, he has already spoken freely about his plans at big-spending Madrid. Those plans could involve raids on his former clubs, Chelsea and Inter, after he spoke glowingly about Blues duo Lampard, 31, and Cole, 29, as well as Maicon - the 28-year-old Brazilian who helped Mourinho lead Inter to a trophy treble in 2009/10. Mourinho has also previously admired 29-year-old Gerrard - he attempted to sign the Liverpool midfielder while he was in charge of Chelsea - and on Thursday described all four players as ideal to fulfil his ambitions in the Spanish capital. (Liverpool Daily Post) Torres returns to training with Spain squad Striker Fernando Torres took another step forward in his recovery from knee surgery when he trained with the rest of the Spain squad for the first time on Thursday. The Liverpool frontman joined his team mates on the pitches at their camp just outside Madrid on their last day before flying off to Austria for the next stage in their preparations for South Africa. "It's great news to have Fernando training with us again, he's an important players for us," defender Gerard Pique told a news conference. Winger Juan Mata added: "He's said he'll be fit in time for our first match, which is good news." Torres had surgery on damaged meniscus in his right knee last month and is slightly ahead of schedule in his recovery plan. All 23 members of the Spanish squad were at the session and were divided into groups to play some mimi-matches, with Torres and midfielder Cesc Fabregas, who is also returning from injury, wearing different coloured bibs to the rest. Torres left the session early, with the Federation saying he would gradually up his workload over the coming days. Spain fly to Austria on Friday morning and play the first of three warm-up friendlies against Saudi Arabia in Innsbruck on Saturday (1600 GMT). They are due to face South Korea and Poland before their opening Group H fixture against Switzerland in Durban on June 16. (Reuters.co.uk) Aquilani keen to make amends Alberto Aquilani insists he wants to stay at Liverpool as he feels he owes them more after an injury-plagued first season. The 25-year-old midfielder arrived at Anfield last summer in a £20million deal but was not able to make his debut until late October because of an ankle injury sustained while still at Roma. Aquilani made just 13 starts last season but finally settled into the starting XI for the last four matches of the campaign. And despite speculation linking him to a swift return to Italy with Juventus, Aquilani is determined to stay and prove his worth to manager Rafael Benitez. "I am staying at Liverpool to make up for many things," he told Italian newspaper Leggo. "I have finally recovered from my ankle injury. "Juve have approached me in the past and now I'm reading of their interest, but I really don't know anything about it." (Sporting Life) Dalglish: Reds will ride the storm Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish insists the club will not go backwards despite their current ownership issues and speculation about the futures of manager Rafael Benitez and star players Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard. “Liverpool FC is much more important than any one individual – it always has been and always will be,” said the Reds former player and manager, who now has an ambassadorial role with the club’s academy. “It will move forwards and move upwards. “It is not the greatest time in the club’s history at this time but I don’t think they will start to go backwards.” (Irish Examiner)     Report: Barcelona keen on Mascherano According to a report in El Mundo Deportivo, reigning Spanish champions Barcelona have re-ignited their interest in Argentinian international Javier Mascherano, currently under contract with Liverpool. (Goal.com) Reina admits Reds fears Jose Reina thinks Liverpool will have to forget any thoughts of again becoming a force at home and abroad if the club's co-owners do not sell in the near future. The Spain goalkeeper is currently preparing for the World Cup, but his club's terrible campaign in 2009/10 is still weighing heavily on his mind. Liverpool failed to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League following a succession of on and off-field problems, which only served to increase hostility towards controversial co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks. The American duo have since placed the Reds up for sale, but they are not prepared to accept any cut-price deal and Reina fears that could mean that football targets have to be adjusted. "As long as we build a competitive squad we do not have to fear anybody," said the shot-stopper, who has committed his long-term future to Anfield, in the Daily Telegraph. "But it is looking like we will not yet. We have to be less optimistic than the last few years and get ready for setting another kind of target. "(The owners) have to move quickly and anything that happens has to be right now." (Sky Sports)
	WEDNESDAY 26
	Hicks: Top talent will stay Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks insists the club will not be selling the likes of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres this summer. A disappointing showing in the 2009/10 campaign has left the red half of Merseyside fuming, with many feeling the current American owners have failed to back manager Rafa Benitez in the transfer market. "We have no intention of selling any of our top players," he told Sky Sports News. "We have a substantial transfer budget in place. There is so much misinformation about transfer spending - it has more then doubled under the ownership of George and myself over the past three years. "We will make a considerable investment this summer, but it is really about getting the right players." (Sky Sports) Carragher: I'll play wherever I'm asked Jamie Carragher is happy to be England's flexible friend in South Africa this summer and play anywhere that coach Fabio Capello asks him to. One of the major reasons why Carragher announced his international retirement three years ago was he became fed up at being repeatedly overlooked to fill one of his favoured centre-half berths when either Rio Ferdinand or John Terry was unavailable. Instead Carragher either remained on the bench or had to slot in at full-back, moves which led to growing resentment from the Liverpool star and ultimately internal questions about whether he was making a worthwhile contribution. In deciding to accept Fabio Capello's offer of an international return, Carragher has been happy to put such reservations aside. He clearly has a huge amount of respect for Capello's coaching ability, enough to accept making a contribution in any area of the field the Italian thinks is required. "Centre-back is my best position. I think everyone is aware of that," said the 32-year-old. "But if you look at the squad maybe the manager does see me playing a different position, which is something I will have to adapt to. "Basically, I will just do whatever the manager says." (TEAMtalk) Torres to decide after World Cup Despite his agent's claims that he is staying at Liverpool, Fernando Torres refuses to discuss the situation at Anfield and is focused on the World Cup finals. "The most important thing for me now is the World Cup, we will see later.," he said when asked about whether he will still be a Liverpool player next season. When asked about his agent's assurances that he is staying he added: "I didn't read anything about it." Torres then went on to comment about the ownership issue, and David Moores' calls for Hicks and Gillette to sell. "Hopefully its one of the ways we need to improve," he said. "I'm with the chief executive and Rafa every week and I'm aware of the situation, but I don't know about the situation now because I'm trying to stay apart from them and focussing on the team so when the World Cup ends we will see what happens." (LFC Online) Brukner keen to minimise Reds' injuries Liverpool's new head of sports science Dr Peter Brukner hopes to be able to keep the likes of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard injury-free. The Australian, who officially takes up his post after travelling to the World Cup with the Socceroos, intends to introduce new techniques when he returns to Melwood. "The players will notice an immediate difference come the start of the 2010/11 season," said Liverpool's head of sports medicine and sports science, who plans to divide players into groups depending on their injury history and then target them with specific work. "Our plan is for the players to do a 15-minute session before they start training. "This will be purely on injury prevention - working on hamstrings, groins, thighs, calves and so on. "The other thing we'll be doing more of is monitoring their general well-being, health and workload. "We'll be able to modify their programmes depending on how much they play and how quickly they recover. "You can't stop all injuries. There are certain injuries which are inevitable - like when someone gets a kick or something. "But I think we can certainly reduce the amount of injuries - particularly what we call soft-tissue injuries. "Things like hamstring muscle, groin muscle, calf muscle and tears." (TEAMtalk) Former owner David Moores calls for Liverpool sale Former owner David Moores has admitted he "hugely regrets" selling Liverpool to George Gillett and Tom Hicks and has called on them to sell up. Moores sold the club to the American duo in 2007 but their reign has been controversial, with concerns mounting about the Premier League outfit's debt. In a letter to the Times newspaper, Moores insisted he acted with the "very best interests of the club at heart". He wants the pair to leave and added: "Don't punish the supporters any more." (BBC Sport Online)     Kyrgiakos plays in Greece draw Sotirios Kyrgiakos played for Greece in their latest friendly. The Liverpool defender got an assist as Greece drew 2-2 with fellow World Cup finalists North Korea last night. The draw is quite embarassing for Greece, but not so much for Kyrgiakos as he was subsituted at half-time. (LFC Online) Reds release young duo Christopher Oldfield and Robbie Threlfall will leave Liverpool when their contracts expire on June 30. The young duo - neither of whom have made a competitive first-team appearance - join Fabio Aurelio and David Martin in being released. Meanwhile, Australian stopper Dean Bouzanis has committed his future until June 2012. Five others have been offered fresh terms: David Amoo, Sean Highdale, Steven Irwin, Alex Kacaniklic and Andras Simon. (LFC Official Website) Reports: Liverpool to offer Riera in bid for Villarreal striker Rossi Liverpool are ready to set up a swap deal for Villarreal striker Giuseppe Rossi. The Italian has declared he intends to leave Villarreal this summer and Reds boss Rafa Benitez is keen to set up a swap involving outspoken winger Albert Riera. (tribalfootball.com)
	TUESDAY 25
	Torres hopeful over fitness Fernando Torres is confident of being fit for Spain's World Cup opener against Switzerland on June 16. The superstar striker is recovering from knee surgery after tearing cartilage during our Anfield clash with Benfica in April. The 26-year-old insists his recuperation is going well. "I'm very well, happy with the progress of the injury. Since January I've had two operations, and that isn't easy," he said. "Everything went very well with the first and in the second the objective was to be ready between six and seven weeks, and I'm at the start of the sixth. "I will do a few more days of specific work and, God willing, I'll be 100 per cent for the first game of the World Cup for sure." Despite fitness concerns, Torres is one of the favourites to win the Golden Boot in South Africa. Asked if he felt any pressure to be the leading scorer, Torres said: "No, but I know that, along with David Villa, I'm lucky enough to be one of the strikers in a team that are among the favourites, and that brings certain privileges." (LFC Official Website) Aurelio leaving Reds Rafa Benitez has confirmed that Brazilian defender Fabio Aurelio is leaving Liverpool this summer when his contract expires. The 30-year-old spent the past four years at Anfield after joining on a free transfer from Spanish giants Valencia in 2006. Benitez had hoped to secure the full-back on extended terms and is disappointed the parties were unable to strike an accord. The Spanish tactician has been delighted with Aurelio's work over the years, but has now confirmed his departure. "Fabio's contract is nearly finished and he is going to leave us," Benitez told the club's official website. "We had been trying to work something out with regards an extension but it was a pity that we couldn't. "Fabio is a top professional, a great player and a really good lad. I mean every single word I say about him. "It has been a pleasure having him here and we really will miss him." "You can say things about players. But with Fabio, you are talking about an amazing person who gave 100 per cent all the time. We wish him all the best." (Sky Sports) Agent: Torres to continue with Reds Fernando Torres' agent has assured Liverpool fans the Spain striker "will continue with the club next season" and is "happy" at Anfield. Despite speculation linking Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester City with £50million-plus bids the club have always been confident the Spain striker would still be at Anfield for the start of the next campaign. And even though Torres has expressed the need for the Merseysiders to match his own ambitions by bringing in quality signings, he has never voiced unhappiness about being at Liverpool. But while he prefers to concentrate on the forthcoming World Cup rather than talk about his future, his agent Jose Antonio has offered assurances about the player's commitment. "For the moment I can assure fans that Fernando will continue at Liverpool next season," he told Punto Radio in Spain. "Everything is down to Liverpool's attitude but for the time being Fernando is happy at the club and has a good contract. "Liverpool have not spoken to us about his future, so he is just concentrating on playing at the World Cup." (TEAMtalk) Reds international stars shine Five of Liverpool’s first team players had an impressive evening for their national sides. England, after withstanding some excellent play from Mexico, ran out 3-1 winners at Wembley in their final game on English soil before the World Cup. Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson both started the match. Despite Gerrard suffering head injury which resulted in him receiving some off pitch treatment, the Liverpool captain had a big hand in England’s two first half goals. One from a corner and one from a free kick. In the second half Jamie Carragher came on for his first England appearance for over 3 years, taking his place in the centre. Early in the second half Glen Johnson scored his debut goal for his country. After breaking through the Mexican midfield he hit a left footed shot from outside the box. He was awarded the man of the match for his efforts during the game. Over in Argentina, Mascherano led out his side to face Canada in a World Cup warm up. In the 16th minute Maxi Rodriguez fired a free kick in to the Canadian net. Before the half was out Rodriguez added another before being substituted at half time. Argentina won 5-0. (Anfield Online) Thor Zakariassen ©